Main Street work should be complete by Apple Festival

With the city's largest downtown street festival a mere four weeks away, the final countdown begins for the last phase of construction work on Main Street.

By Emily WeaverTimes-News Staff Writer

With the city's largest downtown street festival a mere four weeks away, the final countdown begins for the last phase of construction work on Main Street. The annual Apple Festival — a four-day event that floods Main Street with thousands of visitors each day — is set to begin Aug. 30, but the 600 block of the main thoroughfare remains closed to thru-traffic. Engineers plagued by this year's drenching rains have a lot of work left to do.Will they finish in time?“The 500 and 600 blocks and the Sixth Avenue/Main Street and Seventh Avenue/Main Street intersections will be completed prior to the Apple Festival, barring unforeseen weather,” said city Engineer Brent Detwiler.Record rainfall has stalled progress downtown over the last few months.“It's going to be done through to the Seventh Avenue intersection,” Detwiler said. Work from Seventh Avenue to the end of the triangular block that hosts the Triangle Stop may last through mid-September, but will not affect the Apple Festival or the King Apple Parade, he added.The contractor for the project, Trace & Company, has “been working at night and on some Saturdays, and real progress was made in July despite the 20 days of significant rainfall,” Detwiler said.Engineers have faced a deluge of challenges over the past few months, falling in the form of record rainfall in July — the likes of which the city had not seen in more than 100 years.Asheville Regional Airport has received more than 50 inches of rain since January. Rainfall for the month of July alone was 13.69 inches, surpassing a record last set in 1905 of 11.71 inches, according to the National Weather Service.Trace & Company lost about two days last year due to rain in the second phase of Main Street reconstruction. This year, they've lost more than 38 days.“On July 16, Trace & Company had asked for and received an extra 42 days due to rain, which pushed the final completion date to Aug. 29,” Detwiler said. “Since July 16 we have had another eight days of rainfall over 0.10 inches. This means that construction of the 700 block improvements will likely continue into mid-September, which will in no way impact the Apple Festival. Main Street will be fully open for the parade.”Detwiler updated City Council at its meeting Thursday night, discussing the work they've accomplished and tasks engineers have yet to do.He told the council that “weather permitting,” crews plan to finish the northeast and northwest corners of Sixth Avenue and Main Street and install the crosswalks at the intersection starting Friday. Crosswalks are also needed at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Main Street.He said the brick paver crosswalks used in other blocks throughout Main Street's new design may not be possible at the two intersections.Since Sixth and Seventh avenues are both state streets (as part of Highway 64), “any of the major work that we do, DOT requires night closure,” Detwiler said.The brick paver crosswalks need to be untouched by traffic for nearly 48 hours in higher-traveled areas, he added. Because of the difficulties they face in simply closing the roads, setting the brick pavers and the future maintenance on the crosswalks that may be needed, causing closures, he asked the council to consider using the typical white-striped alternative to cross those two streets.Detwiler said the city could also save $13,500 going this route. The council had no objection.Other work left to do includes installation of curbs, gutters, irrigation, electrical lines, sidewalks, trees and decorative light poles; the finishing of four corners of Seventh Avenue and Main Street, including granite signs; asphalt pavement; and landscaping. Detwiler also noted that work on that section of street's stormwater system has also begun. “It's about finished,” he added. Awnings on the first floor of the Skyland Hotel are set to be installed next week, along with a final coating under the building's refurbished balcony and lighting.Detwiler said a “handful of the crosswalks” have too much of a crown, and the subcontractor who installed them is going to replace them.Work completedIn January and February, crews completed installation of a 16-inch waterline, concrete demolition, curb/gutter and sidewalk placement and Skyland fašade demolition in the 500 block. In March and April, plazas in the 500 block began to take shape. The fountain and mechanical work was completed. Crews demolished the east side of the 600 block, completed the final paving of previous blocks and installed brick paver crosswalks.In May and June, the 500 block was done to the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Main Street. Detwiler said that they completed the paving to Sixth Avenue, completed repaving Sixth Avenue from Wall Street to Edwards Street and completed the concrete on the east side of the 600 block. Detwiler said they lost a total of at least 18 days over the two-month period from “significant rainfall.”In July, rain stole 20 days from engineers hoping to finish the street before August.Even with the setback, crews worked nights and weekends to complete and repave the 600 block. The final coat of asphalt was due to be placed Friday. Most of the block was expected to be completed for the weekend.Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.